Travelling not soliciting: Buenos Aires Part 4

San Antonio de Areco

This past weekend I went to a 180 year-old estancia--La Portena-- in the Pampas near to San Antonio De Areco, which is regarded as the gaucho capital of Argentina. San Antonio is a charming small one-traffic-light town. Founded in 18th century and regarded as the gateway to the west, it had a large influx of Irish immigrants in the early 19th century---the names on the memorial stones in the local church are very Irish. Today it is vying for UNESCO World Heritage Site status and probably should have it. There have been strict building restrictions imposed and so there are virtually no buildings later than the early 20th century, and most are 19th century with the odd 18th century. It is home to a large number of artisans who work in silver and leather and display their wares in small studio workshops called tallers. Elaborately worked silver harnesses, saddle ornaments, spurs and knives were the wealth of the gauchos and the craftsmanship was --and is--wonderful. The silver came from Bolivia and Peru but was worked locally.

I was a little disappointed in the journey out to San Antonio. I had visions of fields of pampas grass and then fields of wheat or corn interspersed with fields full of cattle being herded by gauchos. But in fact the majority of journey was along an autoroute lined with shopping centres, car dealerships, small factories and businesses. Of course it is only about 110 km from Buenos Aires so I am sure that if you went further afield or off the autoroute you would find more rural scenery.

Indeed that is what we found when we turned off onto the dirt road to the Estancia La Portena. There were the fields of cattle (Aberdeen Angus is the predominant breed). There, the tufts of pampas grass. Although there were fields of corn, the main cash crop these days is soy beans--practical, but not very romantic looking.

In fact most of the traditional estancias no longer raise cattle or crops. There is more money in tourism. So the gauchos become performers, singing and dancing and displaying their horsemanship for the tourists and the estancia workers become caterers, preparing huge asados (barbeques) of beef and chicken and lamb for the tourists. To keep the tourists happy there are swimming pools and horse riding and carriage rides around the estancia. Still, being a tourist, I was quite happy with this arrangement, and for the estancia owners and workers it is at least a way to make a living and keep their farms and their traditions going.

I was surprised at the amount of trees--my preconception had been that it would be rather like the prairies in western Canada--mile upon mile of flat countryside with fields of wheat with almost no trees and the only thing higher than 10 feet being the grain elevators. But there were plenty of trees lining the fields. I have since learned that many of these are not trees at all but are a form of evergreen herbaceous bush called "ombu" (remember that for your next pub quiz or game of Trivial Pursuit http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/ombu.htm). They sure do look like trees--growing to about 70 feet and with a huge spreading canopy, glossy green leaves, and multiple trunks giving them a huge girth of 40 to 60 feet. Apparently they do very well in the pampas because they need very little water and have fire resistant trunks and the cattle don't eat the leaves. On the estancia there were more traditional trees--oaks, sycamores, eucalytus, acacia, firs, and hackberries (a type of elm)--shading the estancia buildings and providing shading for the trails through the woods around the estancia. (see photos)

At La Portena, as well as the riding we enjoyed a huge asado (barbeque) served on trestle tables under the trees, followed by a performance of gaucho singing and dancing and then a show of horsemanship. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it has decided me that after I leave Buenos Aires at the end of this week I will spend a week on an estancia near Cordoba called Los Potreros where maybe I can learn to ride a little faster than a walk.

Now a few more musings on Buenos Aires....

Argentinian food

I'm going to be controversial here. Argentinian food is not very good. At least it is not very sophisticated or imaginative. It reminds me of Canadian cuisine back in the 1970s and 1980s. Loads of meat. Not many vegetables or salads. Barely any seasoning or spices. There are pizzas and pastas but all very bland and overloaded with cheese. Sushi is disgusting--no tuna, or ebi, or unagi, or tamago, or any of what we would regard as standards. Only salmon and some cooked shrimp. Last week I had a maki roll that had been spread with mayonnaise!! Cakes look good but most actually have that articial flavouring taste. Ice cream is plentiful and quite good. So a diet of steak and ice cream is your best bet.

And they retain that quaint old-fashioned practice of adding a hefty cover charge to the bill for the bread and butter and the privilege of sitting at a table. And you cannot add tips to a credit card payment and all tips have to be in cash. At one meal I ended up emptying my change purse of the coins I had so carefully hoarded for the bus fare!

Argentinian champagne

Now that has been a pleasant surprise! It is excellent. Noting that the climate and soil of parts of northwest Argentina are conducive to growing the grapes for champagne, several of the French champagne houses have set up offshoots in Argentina's north west(Moet, Mumm). And of course it is a fraction of the price of the "real" stuff. I've been drinking a perfectly pleasant one which costs US$13/GBP8.50 a bottle.

Ethnicity

Portenos in my well-to-do part of town, are overwhelmingly European in look (--and they are not very tall, which makes me feel quite at home!) However there are a lot of people on the buses and in the shops who clearly have indigenous Indian blood --whether they are native to Argentina or immigrants from Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay etc.

It seems to divide along class lines---those with the pure pale European look are the wealthy and those who are darker are the maids and the busdrivers and the shop clerks. 'Twas ever thus.

What is puzzling though is that there are no black people or anyone who looks like they have any trace of African.Yet in 1806 the city of Buenos Aires had 15,708 Europeans, 347 indigenous and mestizos, and 6650 Africans and mulattos ---so over a third of the population had some African heritage. What happened to them? Theories are that they were cannon fodder in the long 19th century wars with Argentina's south american neighbours like Paraguay. That they suffered disproportionately from yellow fever. That they intermarried with the European immigrants who flowed into Argentina at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. More controversially and less spoken about are the racist--genocidal--views of some of the revered Argentine leaders at the time such as Sarmiento.

One thing that does not seem to be restricted to certain ethinic groups is poverty. I have mentioned the carteneros and the dog walkers in previous posts--all very industrious even though functioning in a "black" economy. A large number of them sleep on the streets, as well as others. There are a fair number of beggars, particularly outside the churches and supermarket exits. But while some of these have an "indigenous" appearance, this is by no means the majority. It is quite a shock to walk down a street in a posh district like I am in and nearly trip over someone sleeping on the sidewalk. Just now I walked to a local restaurant and passed a man settling in for the night on his cardboard pallet and with a stack of newspapers (broadsheets, none of your tabloids thank you!) which he was assiduously reading . So hard times and homelessness does not seem to be restricted to drunks, druggies or the mentally or physically disabled as it is in some cities.

Architecture and heritage

Unfortunately it seems that the powers-that-be in Buenos Aires have still not caught on to the fact that most people (tourists especially--and Argentina needs its tourist trade) like to see historic buildings and charming neighbourhoods, and are not that interested in 18 lane streets slashed through the middle of neighbourhoods or in glass and concrete office buildings (except in Peurto Madero where they do look in keeping (see earlier blog)). As a result far too many of Buenos Aires neighbourhoods are letting their lovely old 19th century building go to ruin, tearing them down and putting up bland "modern" offices or apartments. And so you see a few charming old houses and then a modern building beside them like a rotten tooth. Perhaps Buenos Aires is just a little bit behind the times as they are with their food :).

Moving on...

This will probably be my last Buenos Aires post. I leave for Cordoba on Saturday and then onwards to other exciting and interesting sights elsewhere in Argentina. I'm going to Salta in the Northwestern provinces, to Mendoza's vineyards and to Bariloche's lakes and mountains. There should be another post from Estancia Los Potreros near Cordoba next Sunday (depending on internet connections and whether I have fallen off my horse).

This week I have my exams for my Spanish course. I have learned a lot but not nearly enough to carry on a proper conversation so if you happen to speak Spanish don't test me, please!